Top Business Trends for 2022: Part 2

Top Business Trends for 2022

In today's blog post, we are revisiting the top business trends of 2022. If you haven’t read the first part of this series, read it here. We chat about three additional trends that I see as being game-changers in 2022. They include partnerships, 10xing your content plan, and podcasting. (and ps you don’t have to have a podcast to benefit from this one). So go back and read that post then add on these next three. 

Because I have been in business strategy for so long, I always get excited this time of year with all the predictions of the following year. Companies pay 100’s of millions of dollars to comb thru data and try to predict what is going to happen next year. 

Plus as a business owner, it is important to understand the environment that you are working in. What worked last year might not keep working or what did might be the “big thing” going forward. 

I always like to keep a pulse on the trends, so here we go.

Part 2 of the Top Business Trends you need to know for 2022. 

I know I talked about community and partnerships in the first post, but I truly believe LIVE events are going to come back BUT in a different way. Personally, I am sort of over the 100 million people in one arena. But give me a mastermind with 10-15 women who I can learn from and I am in. These are called “micro-events”. They can range anywhere from 5 to a few hundred people, but the point is that the “experience” is what people are paying for. They want to be able to talk to people in a setting that is valuable. We are all over listening to zoom calls all day and don’t want to sit in an arena and do the same. 

Guests want to feel, touch and hear things. They want personalized content, gifts, and interaction. People are CRAVING in-person communication so use that to your advantage.

#2 on the List of Trends for 2022: Texting

I have listened to several podcasts recently including one by Chris Harder speaking to the fact that having a texting platform for your business should no longer be optional. It is a must. Text marketing in general delivers 8X the delivery rate of email (and p.s. Email is still REALLY good).

Once you nail your email strategy, layer on a text component. It’s a great way to interact with your customers (we personally use it for our membership and remind our clients when specific content is posted and allow them to ask us questions this way). 

If you are a product-based business you have probably already seen the rise in product company texts. I think I have like 5 right now sitting in my inbox, but it is a great way to reach a small group of customers and offer them sales, discounts and remind them of your products. 

Create an Outstanding Customer Experience

Last but not least, the ever-changing customer experience. You might be asking, what the heck does that mean? Well, to keep it brief, people expect a great customer experience. 

Most of my recent career has been in customer experience so I could chat for hours on this, but my favorite quote on customer experience is by Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos.

He says, "We see customers as invited guests to the party and we are the hosts. It is our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience better.”

Oh and then there is Maya Angelou - "People might forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel”. 

And finally, remember that 80/20 rule? 80% of your repeat sales will come from 20% of your raving customer fans….which are your current customers who had an amazing experience.

 Do you love these tips? Take the Productivity Personality Quiz to get a Netflix-style binge-worthy resource list to help you find your focus and is customized to you! Take the quiz here. 

 I highly recommend taking some time to map out your customer journey. Which means when someone hands over their Credit Card, how are you supporting them going forward?

It matters. 

Ok, so those are my final 3 trends: 

• Micro events
• Texting Platform
• Customer Experience

But I have one more REALLY important one to add on and that is authenticity. Be you. Authenticity inspires loyalty and engagement where integrity, ethics, and morals are not questioned. We tend to be drawn to authentic people.

According to a recent Linkedin article by Marie Ekerholm “Being authentic means that you act in ways that show your true whole self without trying to please others. It is where your own thinking, feeling, acting, and communicating are congruent with no mixed signals. This demands a high level of self-awareness, where authenticity is a choice you have and it takes bravery and courage to live by.”

We live in an ever-changing world, so if you walk away with any of these trends from this post, take away that showing up as your authentic self will get you so much further than trying to be someone else. 

Someone out there needs your story. Exactly how you deliver it. 

I can’t wait to hear some of these trends that you are going to implement and I hope you are as excited as I am about the potential of these tools.

Looking for more on this topic and your High-Level Action items? Check out the Strategy Lab in the Crush the Rush Club!